Durban

During the month of December, things slow down here in Joburg. Most people in Soweto go home to their families in the village. Others go on vacation, which is what we did.

For the first part of our trip we went to Durban for two nights which is on the west coast about 7 hours from Joburg. Durban is the second largest city in SA and is the busiest container port in Africa. It was founded by a Portuguese explorer who came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He landed on the coast on Christmas in 1497, thus naming the area "Natal" which is Christmas in Portuguese.  There is much history here between the British and the Zulu tribe. Later the British established a sugar cane industry which led to the importation of Indian labourers as the Zulus were not interested in working on their plantations. Durban has the largest population of people of Indian descent outside of India in the world.

Durban is one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. One of our goals was to see the Moses Mabhida Stadium which we found after getting lost :)

This is the view from our bed & breakfast that we stayed at... you can't beat looking down the street and seeing the blue ocean.

My one request was to go to the Indian Ocean which Amber sacrificially went along with. I only got into the water up to my knees. Durban is known for sharks (including great whites) so I wasn't too adamant about swimming. I found out some interesting facts after doing some research... South Africa has the highest number of shark attacks in the world with 214 including 42 fatalities. But Volusia County in Florida has had 4 less attacks but all these attacks have occurred in a single county. No thanks!

We went to uShaka Marine World but we ended up getting their too late and not able to go to the aquarium. But it was worth it as we got to see some Zulu women sing and dance! uShaka is named after the great Shaka Zulu warrior who is proudly celebrated by the Zulu people.

We went to one of the largest malls in Africa... it was definitely the biggest mall I have ever been to. It had four levels and even had a rock wall, a wave pool for surfers and a skate park.

roomin' with rach

I have missed my pets from home so often times I get my fix by coming over to my bossman's house to love on their animals. Currently, he and his family are in the States for the holiday season so I have had the privilege of dogsitting. Gotta keep those skills up to par. It truly is therapeutic to stay here and enjoy their company!

I had a photo shoot with Kate, Dorothy (the cat) and Snickers:

Christmas in Africa

Let me just say that I am a big fan of tradition... And Jensen family tradition requires opening presents as soon as you get up. So, Amber and I opened our gifts that were sent to us by our awesome moms.

In South Africa, people go to church on Christmas Day unlike in the States when we go to a Christmas Eve service. We sang, gave testimony, prayed and heard the story of Jesus' birth. It was a great way to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. These sweet girls are the daughters of our newest team members.

We had a meal together with some of our team members as two of our families are in the States right now. We miss you Holidays and Lockes! We played the white elephant game with African curios where everyone wins :)

And this picture is for dad... Every year for breakfast on Christmas he makes tinapanakaga which is a Norwegian pancake. I decided to carry on the tradition and make it for Amber and Zach. I don't think it was as good as dads but I enjoyed having a taste from home.

And what better way to end the day then by video skyping with my sister and brother in law. And then with my mom, dad and the Burchettes getting to open gifts together. It just wouldn't be Christmas with out "being" with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas

Grams

Doris Ann Bennett

15 June 1932 - 18 December 2009

My grams passed away on 18 Dec after a battle with cancer. I can't even begin to tell you how heart sick I am... as I was not able to say goodbye and I don't know whether I will see her in heaven. But I have prayed for the past 4 years for her to come to know the Lord as Savior. Now, I don't know if she accepted Christ but I can rest assured that God is in control and desires for all to come to salvation but each person has to make that decision.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

For many years I have made a big effort to keep in touch with her. I would call her every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm. This obviously changed when I came to Africa but I would still send postcards and letters.

My Grams was one good looking lady :)

My grandma lived in NYC but for as long as I can remember, she would come visit us in NC and stay for a couple months out of the year. She was such a big part of my life growing up. She was a loving and caring person and was always there for us.

This is the last picture I have with her from Dec 2008. Please take note of her sweatshirt - Grandma Appalachian State. 

I love her so much and she will be greatly missed!!

Staff Lunch

We had the awesome privilege of being invited to the Mayibuye Primary School end of the year staff lunch. We were excited about this opportunity to get to know more of the teachers and build relationships.

The celebration was located at Country Boma which is outside of the city and surrounded by beautiful scenery of mountains and fields.

Okay you might be wondering why I took a picture of this. Take a look at how you have to take a large step up to reach the toilet and how you have to flush it. This was a very nice hotel and restaurant... I'm not used to fancy and upscale facilities!

They had a small program that included gift giving... I didn't really understand the rules of the game but someone would come up and call the name of the person they were giving their gift to. I'm assuming it is much like our secret santa.

This is Amber and I with Rosina who works with the Grade 7s at Mayibuye. She is always responsible for helping to organize the girls for Girls Club and is a pleasure to work with!

It's Beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!!

Okay not really... it's in the 80s in Joburg. But Amber and I are trying to get into the Christmas spirit. We have a 3 ft tree and some lights strung up around the flat. And we have been playing Christmas music for the past month. So, we decided to go see the African version of the Nutcracker.

To make a long story short, we headed out with directions but for some reason we still got lost. Along the way we found Soccer City! This is one of the two stadiums in Joburg that will be hosting games for the World Cup. The design of the stadium is inspired by the African pot known as the calabash. Soccer City is famous for many reasons including the hosting of Nelson Mandela's first rally after his release from prison in 1990.

We actually have tickets to the Round of 16 at this stadium. Can't wait for World Cup 2010!

We also got to tour part of downtown Joburg, which was not in the directions.

Finally, we made it to Gold Reef City. The GRC theatre, amusement park, and casino are centered around shaft No. 14, which was started in 1887 during the start of gold mining in Joburg. I'm excited about going to the amusement park to take the tour of the gold mine shaft... 220m (721 feet) underground.

It was beautiful inside and we were just happy to see any sign of Christmas! The Nutcracker was filled with Africanisms that we were able to catch and understand, which was exciting. Not the same performance I remember seeing as a child but nevertheless the music and dancing was excellent.

Ukubhabhadizwa

Praise God! We have had 2 baptism services, one at Lehae Baptist and the other at Faith Baptist in Snake Park.

This is Jerry who has professed Jesus as Lord and was baptized in the Klip River in Lehae.

This is some of the members of Lehae that came out to support Jerry. Please note the bunny ears held up by Mehluli... they are a fun group of people. 

We had a beautiful day and great attendance at Snake Park! Before being baptized, they each came up to testify to the church how God has worked in their lives and confess Him as their Lord and Savior.

There were 8 women who were baptized in a blow up pool... how cool is that? 

This is a video of the ladies singing and praising God before getting baptized. There is nothing better than hearing people praise the Lord in their native tongue! Makes me look forward to the day when every tribe, tongue, and people will be singing before the throne.

Revelation 7:9

And behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...